space oddity

'ALIEN MISSILE' OR HOAX?

'THEY COME IN PEACE'

Former Nasa astronaut 'claims the Pope knows aliens exist and want to help humans, Wikileaks reveals'

In a statement, NASA said the prototype was now being tested with a "mock asteroid boulder".

Made of rock, styrofoam, plywood and an aluminum endoskeleton, the asteroid arrived in four pieces before being assembled inside the centre's Robotic Operations Center in NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

The robotic form of ARM is hoped to be launched in 2021.

NASA, which was joined by students from West Virginia University, created the prototype to help visualise how the system would work and capture an asteroid.

Getty Images

The plan could avoid having an asteroid collide with earth if threatened in the future

NASA said: "Engineers can use industrial robots, a motion-based platform, and customized algorithms to create simulations of space operations for robotic spacecraft.

"The ROC also allows engineers to simulate robotic satellite servicing operations, fine tuning systems and controllers and optimizing performance factors for future missions when a robotic spacecraft might be deployed to repair or refuel a satellite in orbit."

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